Turmoil taking toll on Sens
Instability in front office under owner Melnyk may pave way for Karlsson’s exit
OTTAWA — While attempting to divert our attention with the announcement that general manager Pierre Dorion had been given a three-year contract extension, the Ottawa Senators concluded its release by slipping in a two-sentence bomb on Friday.
“Additionally, Tom Anselmi will be vacating his role as president and CEO. We thank Tom for his contributions to the organization and wish him all the best.”
The big question, of course, is whether the former chief operating officer of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment jumped ship or was pushed. From what we’ve been able to gather, it was a little bit of both.
It’s believed Anselmi actually resigned three weeks ago, very close to the one-year anniversary of the day he was hired, because of what one source called the “craziness.”
If you’ve lost count, along with eight coaching changes in a decade, the past 24 months have seen the Senators go through two presidents, three chief financial officers and three chief marketing officers.
Daniel Alfredsson, the greatest player Ottawa ever called its own, is among those who have also ran away from this mess.
Even with all the losing in the expansion years and the financial crisis that would follow, the franchise has never seen darker days. It has become an absolute joke. At some point, perhaps owner Eugene Melnyk will again turn to the Toronto media, this time to explain the exit of Anselmi, who was brought in to replace the highly respected Cyril Leeder.
Anselmi’s primarily duty was to oversee the development of LeBreton Flats, but, since that project has not yet reached shovel in ground stage, we have to assume he was taking the brunt of frustrations over sagging ticket sales.
Through 28 games, the Senators ranked 24th in the 31-team National Hockey League in attendance, averaging 15,974 fans and 1,179 empty seats per game.
It would be easy to blame the numbers on the fact they are so-so far out of playoff contention if they had played to full houses last spring while taking a serious run at the Stanley Cup. But not even a surprising rise to championship contention could attract capacity crowds.
Simply put, that loving feeling is no longer near as strong as it once was, and it dissipated further in December, when Melnyk chastised fans for not offering their full support while threatening to cut play- er payroll and, as a last resort, relocate the team.
Most saw through his transparently phoney attempts at a retraction while strangely keeping his distance in the land of the hated Maple Leaf. The rest were busy still shaking their heads in disgust.
The worst may be yet to come. In making what has become a rare wise move by extending Dorion, who played a large role in building the team when he was a top scout and was a top-three finalist for the NHL’s GM of the year award in his first 12 months on the job, Melnyk added a comment to the release. “Today’s announcement reflects a renewed commitment to scouting, drafting and development. It may require changes to our lineup. Rest assured, we will only tolerate pain with an endgame in mind.”
From that, we read a few dollars might be freed up to give the smallest management staff in the NHL some help.
We also see it as Melnyk coming to the realization he is about to lose the best defenceman in the league.
Dorion will do his best to convince Erik Karlsson the team is headed in the right direction, that, if he re-signs before his contract expires next year, he won’t be part of a rebuild, but a contender. He somehow might even be able to offer him close to fair market value money.
It will all sound good to Karlsson, who does want to stay in Ottawa.
But, under current ownership, Dorion can’t promise Karlsson order will be restored upstairs, where the Senators have become the picture of instability.
And, if you’re Karlsson, with what would be so many other options, why would you subject yourself to that?
I agree with the words of TSN analyst Dave Poulin, who summed up all the Senators’ uncertainly after Friday’s announcement.
“I think this makes it really hard for Erik Karlsson to stay in Ottawa.”